Aberdeen Women manager Clint Lancaster has revealed his ambitions for his side ahead of their first post-split SWPL fixture.
The Dons, who sit in seventh with 25 points, host ninth-placed Spartans at Balmoral Stadium on Sunday in their first match since the split.
Lancaster’s side sit six points clear of Motherwell in seventh and 12 clear of their weekend opponents, who they have beaten twice already in the league this term.
And the Aberdeen boss has been urging his side to harness a different kind of motivation ahead of the run-in to the end of the season.
Lancaster said: “Our aim now is just to pick up as many points as we can in each game and it won’t be easy because before the split you were in a position where you can always try to improve on where you are in the table.
“But, with us sitting seventh I have spoken to the players about this and have asked them what is their motivation now.
We begin our post-split fixtures on Sunday as Spartans travel to the Balmoral 🔴#StandFree pic.twitter.com/wkMnYlxWyp
— Aberdeen FC Women (@AberdeenWomen) March 11, 2024
“Everybody else will have the motivation to come and try catch Aberdeen, but we have to look at what our motivations are.
“The players need to find ways to motivate themselves to make sure we can stay in this position in the league and we will keep preparing for each game as well as we can.”
Aberdeen Women want to secure seventh in SWPL
The gauntlet he has thrown down to the players, Lancaster says, is a mix of team-based goals and individual targets.
He added: “We have been in seventh for a long time and I don’t really remember us being in any other position. It is a position we’d now like to stay in after the split.
“Another motivating factor is to win our home games and pick up as many points as we can here.
“For the players, another thing has been personal targets and goals. Whether it be clean sheets or somebody like Bayley (Hutchison) trying to finish as high up the scoring chart as she can.”
Lancaster also revealed steps have been taken to prepare for next season, with conversations being had with those who are out of contract at the end of this campaign.
Those players include the quintet – Eilidh Shore, Eva Thomson, Bayley Hutchison, Jess Broadrick, and Francesca Ogilvie – who were the first-ever female players to be offered paid contracts at the club back in 2022.
The Dons boss said: “We are trying to get those players pinned down for next season and we’re going through the process just now.
“We have had conversations with the players and they have been positive, which is great. It is just about trying to get those done now and over the line.”
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